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Perhaps best described as India’s first ‘non-hotel’, Anant Van is a very special place. Aimed at those who possibly already know and love India, the focus is not purely on wildlife but also on its habitat, local villages, re-forestation, conservation and village interaction. The brainchild and dream of Dhruv Singh, Anant Van is a singularly different type of hotel. The lodge encompasses the idea of running a small farm and village integration programme at the edge of Bandhavgarh. It offers you a unique opportunity to understand the details and daily goings on of the local community, together with appreciating the camp’s participation in such a delicate environment as Bandhavgarh.
Dhruv has set about restoring 22 acres of overgrazed and deforested land. The objective is to regenerate the devastated land and bring it back as a thriving eco system. This involves forest regeneration, experiments in rural farming near national parks, and self sustenance through responsible tourism. The one cannot be separated from the other since they all depend equally on each other: successful wildlife tourism depends on forest regeneration; forest regeneration depends on the rural community, which in this case depends on farming; and for them to carry out their work and to reach out to the world, they depend on people coming and participating as responsible tourists, along with having a hugely enjoyable and exciting time in the national park, seeing the myriad species of wildlife and diverse vegetation.
The grounds are stunning, surrounded by fields which you can wander through, and down to a watering hole and the local village. The views from the verandah of the main lodge are magnificent and the small watering hole attracts myriad species of birds and animals in the evenings and early mornings. Dhruv is so keen to employ each and every villager that he goes to extraordinary lengths. For example, he has used mud rather than cement wherever possible as this takes more maintenance, so employs more people, so he can pay them more money. It is a highly unusual and admirable attitude and he is much loved by the villagers. Most of the flooring is hard baked mud and dung which is re-done almost every day, whether it needs to be re-surfaced or not. It is simply a means of giving more villagers more work!
The lodge comprises 2 cottage tents and 2 cottages, each being nice and private. These are comfortable but simple and are entirely in keeping with their environment and the eco-friendly focus of the camp. Excellent, comfortable beds and superb linen combine with Dhruv’s inimitable good taste. The bathrooms are fixed with bare pipes showing and villagers’ hand prints on the walls by way of decoration, but they boast huge rain-showers with plenty of hot water. The whole place has an air of rustic charm and yet it’s comfortable and has everything you could need. It’s been very cleverly executed. At Anant Van they are extremely environmentally aware, with much of the wood used having been recycled from other projects. They aim to regenerate the forest by giving back to the earth what has been taken from it.
The main lodge, where everyone gathers each evening to discuss the day’s events, has simple wooden furniture, all made on site. The idea is for everyone to chat and integrate and eat together, in the hope that the people staying here will tend to have shared interests. Meals will be cooked for you and the food will be fresh and delicious (vegetarian and no alcohol is served but beer can be provided). However, should you want to cook or learn to cook, feel free to do so as the kitchen is partly in the main sitting area. The produce is home grown wherever possible and you may choose your own lettuce if you’d like! There’s power and electricity for charging laptops and telephones and cameras and there is an internet connection. There’s a small dip pool in the middle of the vegetable garden.
Each evening a prayer ceremony is held under the tree by the deities. It’s a very special event to witness and to listen to. The camp owns its own vehicles, ensuring that high standards are maintained. The staff are old Bandhavgarh hands and are extremely affable and efficient, whilst the three naturalists are second to none.
The aim and focus behind Anant Van is to have like minds to stay who really want to learn about local ways and to help the villagers and their villages, along with a strong slant on conservation. When staying here you obviously spend time in the park on game drives (with the added bonus of entering the park from the new, less crowded gate as that is where Anant Van is situated), but you also have the opportunity to spend time in the villages and in the farmland, seeing how daily life works.